Cultural Exchange

The complex relationship between Hong Kongers and Mainlanders recently resurfaced (this time in the YouTube universe) when a video of a young child from Mainland China urinating in Hong Kong streets went viral.

As pundits proclaim relations between Washington and Moscow at a historic low, it's worth remembering that they have, in fact, been lower. And that when they were, the U.S. was having a lovefest with Russian ballet.

On this visit, I was once again astounded by the Chinese embrace of Western music. Consider these statistics: Thirty years after the end of the Cultural Revolution when western music was banned, approximately 40 million people are studying piano and 10 million studying violin.

Music and art and community development (not stones and guns and politics) will revive hope in Kashmir's future, which has suffocated under decades of conflict and exploitation from all sides and all parties.

The availability of high-quality postsecondary education is significant beyond the personal benefit of a college degree: the problem-solving capacity of a modern college or university and its graduates is enormous.